Textile spindle



Dec. 11, 1956 R. L. CHILDS ET AL TEXTILE SPINDLE Filed May 18, 1955 @KMM! A TTORNE'Y TEXTILE SPIN DLE Richard L. Childs and Edward Cranshaw, Hopedale, Mass, assignors to Draper Corporation, Hopedal-e, Mass., a corporation of Maine Application May 18, 1953, Serial No. 355,464

3 Claims. (Cl. 57-130) This invention pertains to improvements in spindles such as spinning and twisting spindles, and more particu' larly to means forming a part of such spindles and adapted to support and drive a bobbin.

It is a general object of the invention to devise improved driving means for a spinning or twisting spindle which shall serve effectively to grip the interior of a bobbin carried on the spindle, to drive it as the spindle is rotated and which shall also permit easy donning and dolfing of bobbins thereon.

It is a more specific object of the invention to devise such means which shall function at or adjacent the tip of a spindle such as a spindle of smaller diameter adapted to support and drive so-called filling bobbins and which may support the bobbin adjacent its tip and drive it at that general locality, thereby permitting the base or butt of the bobbin to have a slight amount of play at the acorn or adjacent part of the spindle and/ or whorl thereby to permit self-alignment as shown and described in United States Patents 210,358 and 942,777.

Spinning and twisting spindles are rotated at very high rates of speed and generally comprise a blade of tapered steel on which is fixed a whorl, the blade extending above the whorl to support a bobbin in driving relationship with the spindle, and also below the whorl to be borne in suitable bearing structure within a bolster, the general arrangement and details of such mechanism being understood by those familiar with the textile art. Various schemes have been employed for causing the bobbin to rotate with and at the same speed as the spindle. Certain dir'ficulties are experienced since such spindles are necessairily of relatively small diameter and contact the bore of wooden or other bobbins the dimensions of which are not capable of being maintained within extremely fine limits, and which are instable as the material from which the bobbin is made expands or contracts due to change in moisture content, and further, due to the wear occasioned by the repeated donning and dofiing of the bobbin on the spindle as is necessary since it takes but a small period of time to spin or to wind a package. Furthermore, any driving means employed must, in addition to imparting the required torque from the spindle to the bobbin, permit the donning and doffing functions to be carried out with a minimum of efiort, and especially without any sticking such as may require unnecessary effort on the part of the machine operator.

According to the invention hereinafter described in greater detail a spindle of more or less conventional design has been so modified as to provide for all of the necessary attributes required including easy donning and dofiing and effective driving. The preferred form of the invention comprises a reduced end, that is, a turned down spindle blade end of fair length on which is mounted a hard resilient sleeve of a material such as one of the plastic compounds capable of being readily molded or extruded and which has comparatively great resistance to distortion of its dimensions, but which may nited States Patent "ice tion with such longitudinal compression, a proportionate amount of lateral expansion, that is, increase in diameter.

Since the sleeve fits tightly on the reduced end of the blade, any change of dimension laterally is exemplified as increased diameter which change of dimension is utilized to adjust the driving torque, that is, initially and also from time to time to take care of wear such as may be experienced over a period of time. The sleeve is actually compressed between a shoulder at the lower end of the reduced end of the blade and a threaded member such as a nut at the tip thereof, this threaded member being employed to hold the parts in position and also to develop that degree of compression necessary for adjustment as described.

The invention will be described in following paragraphs by reference to one particular embodiment thereof illustrated in detail in the accompanying figures of drawing, wherein:

Fig. 1 is a sectional view showing a spindle to which the invention has been applied, a typical filling bobbin being shown in driving relationship thereto.

Fig. 2 is an enlarged view of the driving portion of the spindle.

Now referring to the figures of drawing, a typical spindle to which the invention may be applied comprises a blade 10, a whorl 11 having an acorn 12, it being understood that the whorl is for the purpose of accommodating a tape or belt by which the spindle is to be driven. The spindle blade continues downwardly below the whorl to terminate in a tapered portion 13 which, as is well known to those skilled in the art, fits within a suitable bearing within a bolster, the details of such parts not being necessary of further description here. The blade continues upwardly beyond the whorl and acorn within which it fits tightly to continue as a tapered part 14 having a reduced or turned down end 15. This reduced end joins or continues from the part 14 at a point defined by a shoulder 16, this shoulder serving in conjunction with a nut 17 to clamp a sleeve 18 in position on the reduced end. While the same are not necessarily to be employed in all instances, it is preferred that washers 19 and 20 be positioned above the shoulder 16 and below the nut 17, these washers preferably being of brass thereby to prevent rusting or other undesirable effects by which the parts might be caused to stick after a period of time.

The nut 17 is threaded onto a still further reduced end 21 of the blade, thelatter being threaded for a sufiicient extent to accommodate the longest sleeve which might conceivably be utilized and to provide a range of adjustment for the nut 17 such that any degree of compression desired may be effected.

It is to be understood that, as more clearly shown in Fig. 2, the sleeve 18 fits relatively tightly on the reduced end 15 and, of course, the threaded part of the blade tip is of greater extent than may normally be required, however, the additional amount of threading makes possible the use of sleeves of different length if so desired, It is to be understood that bobbins of different lengths are to be accommodated and in certain instances different sleeves might more desirably be employed.

The bobbin, one of which is shown at B, Fig. 1, may be made of wood, metal or plastic material and has a turned interior bore the upper end of which is relatively smooth being reamed out to the proper diameter for engagement with the exterior surface of sleeve 18. The lower end of the bobbin of more or less conventional design has a larger bore which fits over the acorn 12, and

preferably, as herein illustrated, only the upper part of the bobbin actually engagement with the spindle, or more correctly, with theesleeve 18 which forms an integral JIunctiona-lpart thereof. For reasons well knownquired; Fronr.time:to time flthis adjustment may need tolbe chan ged slightly as the interior of bobbins becomes worn, or the exterior of. the. sleeve wears slightly. It Y is to be understood that the actual adjustmentv is a compromise to someextent inthat the diameter of the sleeve andtli driving force,eventuallyutilized must make possible teasy donningandtdofiing of. a bobbin, but it has been found that by employing suitable materials alonggwith the..novel ,constructionnherein' described, the required torque may ,be transrnitted without imparting to any nc ticeable extent. theudonning and doflingfunctions.v The doffing'never requires any appreciable amount of effort on the part of the operator so long as the compression is not excessive andit does not need to be excessive since the driving force .isnrather easily developed,

The. material from which the sleeve is .made is preferably' ,airesinous, molded or extruded plastic which is hard:surfaced :andwresilient enough .to wear well, yet compressible and expansible as described; One such material which has'been successfully; employed for the purpose-isla synthetic, moldedi pl astic known astetrafluoroethylene resin andsold under the'name Teflon, Other materials; displaying the same general characteristics may b'eutilized, I H

While washers preferably of copper are placed at either end of. thesleeve, they ,are :notentirelyessential. As a modification, the. nut :17 maybe of a self-locking type, e. g.',, an,elastic stop nut.- V M Whileione embodiment of the invention has been disclosed,.it is to be understood that: the inventive concept may becarried out in anumber of ways; This invention is, therefore, not .tonbe limited to theprecise details described, but is intendedto embrace all variations and modificationszthereof falling within the spirit ofthe invention and the scope -.of the claims:-

We claim:

1. A top drive typetextile-spindle for supporting and drivinga bobbin saidgspindle having a blade, aawhorl and m ean s at the blade-tip for imparting torque to' a bobbin :supported on the spindle which comprises an elongated blade end of reduced diameter, a shoulder defining the juncture between said blade and blade end, a sleeve ornate; resilient materiahcapabie of longitudinal compression and correspondig lateral expansion when subjected to relatively great pressure directed against its ends, and threaded means forming a part of said blade end for retaining said sleeve on said reduced end and further, being effective iricorijun'c'tion with said shoulder, for developing that longitudinal compression in said sleeve such that the lateral expansion therein will cause it to gripthe bore of a bobbin effectively to drive the same.

2. A top drive type textileflspindl'e for supporting'and driving a bobbin, said spindle" having a' blade, a whorl and means at the blade tip 'forimparting' torque to a bobbin supported on the spindle Whichcomprises an elongated blade end ofreduced diarnter, a shoulder defining the juncture between said blade and blade end, a cylindrical sleeve of a hard, resilient, moldable synthetic resin capableof longitudinal compression and corresponding lateral expansion when subjected torelatively great pres sure directed against "its ends; and'thr'ead means forming a part of said'blade end: for r'etaininggsa'id' sleeveon said reducedlend andfurther, being effective in conjunction with said shouldeigtor developing that longitudinal compression in said-sleeve suchf tha't the' lateral expansion thereinwill cause it to griprthe :bore of a bobbin eifectively to drive the same:

3. A top drive type textile spi'ndle for' supporting and driving a bobbin, said' SpindIe' haVing' 'a-blade, a whorl and means-at 'the-blade' tip J for :imparting torque'to a bobbin supported on the spindle-Which comprises an elongated blade end of'reduc'ed diameter,- a-shoulder defining the juncture between said blade and blade end, a cylindrical sleeve --of:= hard, resilient tetrafluoroethylene resin capable of longitudinal compressionand corresponding lateral: expansion: when 1 subjected to relatively great pressure 'directed against its ends,' andthreaded means forming a part of said'bladeendfor retaining said sleeve on said reducediend and fiirther, 'being efiective in conjunction with said shoulderafor developing "thatlongitudinalcompression in said sleeve suchthat the lateral expansion thereinwill causeit 'toagrip thebore of a bobbin eflectively to drive the same:

References Cited in=thefile'"0f this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

